Life After Death
by ranichan
Summary: I know, the title is HORRIBLE! buttt please read on before you cast judgement.After Ranma's death, Akane still feels that he will come to her rescue so she takes a risk, will Ranma still come through for her, is there truly life after death?
1. Ready

A/N: If I had a million dollars, I probably still wouldn't own any of these characters. Oh, but I'd try.

Takahashi, look me up sometime?

"Life After Death"

By: Ranichan

When you live in a ward encased in chaos, you tend to forget that beyond the city limits live ordinary people who live ordinary lives and die ordinary deathes.

He was all but ordinary.

To live such an extraordinary life, one could not be satisfied with anything _but_ an extraordinary death.

He was 17. With the threat of his schooling ending, he had yet to choose who he would spend the rest of his life with and the time he'd have left to spend with _her_ was dwindling. He had come to the conclusion that he wanted her, he knew all along, and he now knew he had to tell her.

One evening, he took it upon himself to seclude himself from the chaos that usually followed him as he pondered how best to express his feelings.

As he sat in his favorite spot under the bridge, thoughts of her distracted him as he recalled with intricate detail, the color of her eyes, the smile that dimpled her face, the soft blush of her cheek, the pout of her lips... love turns everyone into a poet.

In his mind, he pieced together words meant only for her. "You should know that no matter what, I'll always be there for you. We've been engaged for about as long as I've known ya and that almost ruined it for us. School's bout to end and with it, I know that Pops will either force me on another one of his training trips or everyone will pressure me to choose. Before that happens, I just want to tell ya... as a friend, as your fiance," he thought confidently, "I owe it to ya to tell you that for the longest time... I've... I've... nah!"

Words couldn't seem to convey all that he was feeling, least of all _his_ words.

"I love you."

It was perfect.

Throughout his epiphany, he had failed to notice the rainstorm that seemed to have just fallen upon Nerima. Thunder bellowed above and echoed loud under the bridge.

"Shit." Ranma cursed as he was shaken from though. How he hadn't noticed before was beyond him as water had begun pooling under his feet. The little lake was slowly consuming the ground on which he sat. "Gotta get outta here..." he sighed knowing he wouldn't make it home a man.

As he stepped from under the safety of the bridge, he felt the familiar sensation of the transformation from Ranma to Ranko earning another light curse under his breath.

As he took off, lightning cracked through the sky, immediately lighting the dark sky. Thunder boomed threateningly and suddenly, a branch struck by lightning fell upon the head of none other than Ranma.

He was out cold.

"Oh my, such strange weather we're having..." Kasumi gasped as the electricity threatened to go out.

"Yea..." Akane gulped blankly, feeling her stomach turn.

The next morning, the sky still shone overcast. It had rained all evening. Akane woke to unusual banter coming from the guestroom down the hall.

"Ranma, my boy! Time for your morning romp! If you don't keep training, you'll be _soft_, my boy! Leave it to your father to help whip you into **shape**!" Genma bellowed as he threw open their closet, as if in seach of Ranma.

"What _are_ you doing...?" Nabiki questioned grouchily rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"What seems to be the problem?" Soun clamoured in.

Soon, Genma found himself facing the entire house, angered at his lack of consideration. "I... I was just looking for Ranma..." he offered, shrugging.

"Well, where is he?" Akane shot.

"Oh my, I don't recall him coming home last night. He wasn't even at dinner..." Kasumi mused aloud.

"Oh boy, Ranma missed a _meal_!? Call the coastguard!" Nabiki responded sarcastically. She nonchalantly walked into the bathroom turning on the water for a fresh bath. At that, the inhabitants of the house disappated knowing Ranma was fine, except Akane.

She couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right. Her conditioned response to whenever he went missing was to assume the worst. He was with one of _them_ and jealousy would ensue. But a feeling in the pit of her stomach disabled her from doing so. "Ranma..." she sighed, her brow furrowed.

Hours dripped into days and Akane found herself growing sick with worry. He wasn't with Shampoo or Ukyo, they had come by on a daily basis asking what she'd done to him, why he hadn't been coming out. She had, for a while, thought Kodachi had caught up with him and was holding him captive through methods of strong paralysis, but even she had come around demanding to know what she had done with her precious Ranma-sama, so she was ruled out, reluctantly so.

She soon found herself dazedly walking around for any sign of him. What she felt was more than merely missing him. He had left without saying goodbye. But she felt more than sadness, she was eager, she was distraught. Something was wrong, she instinctively knew.

One evening, egaer to find some part of him to which she could hold onto, she climbed up to the roof, a place he often occupied, and thought. "Why would he leave without saying goodbye? I mean...not to _me_, of course, but to _anyone_!" but she could only lie to herself for so long, "So what if I _do_ care whether he said goodbye? He's gone so it doesn't matter! But _why_!? Where have you gone, Ranma? What were you running away from? Could it have been... me?" she mused, lost in her thoughts.

The next day, as she aimlessly trudged through Nerima, she cam upon the fence a certain pig-tailed martial artist she knew would scale and balance on whilst on their way to school. She was tempted to climb but resigned to just hold the cold metal in her hands. She looked past the fence and out to the lake where a small bridge Ranma frequented, sat. Before she knew it, she was standing on the bridge staring blankly into the water.

She unintentionally shivered and decided to make her way back home and wait for any news of him. She sullenly trudged down along the muddy banks of the now bloated river. Nights ago, the rain had flooded the river leaving the shore weak and easily broken. Akane walked carefully, mindful of the fragility of the ground upon which she stood.

Dazedly, she walked on until she accidentally tripped over a fallen branch. She was face down in dirt and mud and her temper flared as she pushed herself up, her left hand grazing something unfamiliar. She looked down to find the cold hand of Ranma, his body half underwater, his clothes sullied with mud.

Akane cried bewilderedly and gasped, dropping his hand. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. She huddled closer to his body crying out his name repeatedly, as if each time she did, he was given a little bit more life. "Ranma... Ranma. Ranma? Ranma! RANMA! RAN-MA!" Sick with sorrow, she sobbed raggedly for hours cradling his lifeless body before she was finally discovered, her voice hoarse.

A/N: More to come soon, don't start hating it juuuust yet. Wait for the final chapter to flame me, please!!

Second and final chapter coming within the hour, pinky promise ;)

PLEASE READ FURTHER!

P.S. IN CASE THIS WASN'T MADE CLEAR ENOUGH,

Ranma was not killed by the branch hitting him. He was knocked out and as the lake was flooded with rain, he actually drowned, at least, that was my intent. Sorry if that was not illustrated. 'K thats all.


	2. Repast

"Ranma... Ranma. Ranma? Ranma! RANMA! RAN-MA!" Sick with sorrow, she sobbed raggedly for hours cradling his lifeless body before she was finally discovered, her voice hoarse.

Life After Death (cont.)

By: Ranichan

The funeral was horrible. Friends, enemies, lovers, all gathered to say goodbye to Ranma, the martial artist who had, in his short life, touched so many people... and probably pissed them off too.

No one was as inconsolable as Akane, they knew. She had found him there, as if drawn to him even after death and while she appeared to be calm and collected at the ceremony, it was only because, hours before, she had bawled and screamed and kicked and cried herself into exhaustion. She was silent but she was dying inside, detached from those around her as they grieved quietly.

Death had come and stolen him without so much as a warning, he was gone and it killed a piece of her as well. She was as dead as he was in an emotional sense. Her family supported her and carried her back home where a repast was held. The house and dojo was packed with countless people who had numerous tales of wonder where Ranma was concerned. How he had saved them, challenged them, brought two people together, ate them out of house and home; however, the one person with the most stories secluded herself in her room away from friends, away from family.

No one knew quite what to do, whether she needed to talk or whether she just needed her space so Kasumi, trying to be mindful of what her little sister was going through, took a plate up to her room, left it in front of her door and knocked. A whimper from inside was heard so she left, cringing at her sister's suffering.

Akane lay in a ball, still wearing her black gown from the funeral, tears streaming down her expressionless face. "Ranma..." she breathed, wringing the hem of her dress in her two frail hands. "Why? How could it have been this way!? All this time, no one ever thought that anything like this would happen... least of all to you. I just can't get over it, what am I going to do now? What will I do, now!? I... I never even got to tell you how much I- how much I loved you. Now... now, there's nothing left for me here. What is worth living for when you're not here, Ranma? I never thought that you could move me so much and yet, I knew all along. If only we hadn't fought so much, maybe you'd still be alive, or at least in death, you'd know that I loved you. I just don't know why the gods would do this! As if you haven't been through enough, why!? I just... don't understand!" her mind screamed as fat tears continued to find their way to her chin. "It's not fair!"

She had rationalized herself to the point of nausea, the injustice, the pain, the anguish, all manifesting itself in the pit of her stomach as a growth was pushed up into her throat. She couldn't cry, it would solve nothing because nothing would bring him back. One thought kept sounding in the back of her head, though. "What will I do without you? What will I do without you?" All this time she had known him, she had never known anything but love for him and him alone. Sure, there were times when she hated him but still, she could never imagine loving anyone else. She knew, she lost her soulmate. What _would_ she do now.

The cries and laughter of those attending the repast were slowly ebbing from her ears as she drifted further from home. Her small hands were balled into fists as she determinedly made her way to the very bridge where he had spent so much of his time, where she had found him.

Again, she made her way to the bank of the lake, wary of falling. She silently sat on the shore staring off into the water, formulating what would happen next. Again, she breathed his name, knowing no one would ever answer. "He died without knowing... I loved him... and he died without telling me." She berated herself for being so pretentious, to think, he could ever love _her_, but she knew it was true. She knew he loved her, in all the things he did for her, there was love. Time and time again, he had risked his life for her and she knew he wouldn't have, had he not loved her. She knew he'd do anything for her. It was with that final assertion that she stood, resolved. She took off her flat shoes and placed them beside her and then she began to walk toward the swelling lake admitting herself to the water, the very water that had claimed his life. She walked steadily on, slowly allowing the water to consume her. She felt the water swallow her and fill her longs as she continued to breathe under water, consciously remembering "inhale, exhale, fight it". Soon, she found herself at the bottom of the lake, the pressure of the water puncturing her eardrums. She was committing herself to the water, just as he had and she knew that if he loved her, even in death, he would save her. If he didn't, then she would finally know and she would not have to live with anymore suffering. "I have to do it," she thought, her mind hazy as she felt herself succumbing to death. Her eyes closed to see him, just as she remembered him smiling back at her, she would die with him on the brain. A small serene smile tugged at her lips as she gave herself to the cold water; however, just then, the water around her warmed.

She was unconscious now, unable to appreciate herself being pulled from the depths of the lake. She was being pulled from the water with speed unaccustomed to anyone she knew. Her body was pulled onto the shore and was administered CPR at once.

"But... who?" she asked, her voice echoing ethereally, as she gazed down on her body, something she had done once before. "Ranma?"

"Ryoga." came another detached voice from behind her. "I led him to you."

"Ranma?" Akane turned to see Ranma staring back at her his face unsmiling yet tender. "You.. led him... the warm water?"

"Well... that was me, too. But, Akane, you must go back." Ranma stated sadly.

"But Ranma, I don't want to. I can't if I can't have you, I won't!" Akane protested.

"You can, and you will because now you know. I love you. I do, and I can't let you do this when there is so much more in store for you." Ranma shook his head solemnly as he held her in his arms.

She couldn't feel him but knowing he was there and knowing that she loved him was enough. "Ranma, I-"

"I know, Akane, I know," Ranma breathed, his voice breaking. "You'll tell me when it's time."

"But, Ranma!" Akane cried feeling herself awake in anothers' arms.

She awoke knowing that Ranma, indeed, loved her and that she would have to wait to hold him again because he would not let her give up, he would make her live. They had been cheated, it's true, but they would reunite once more when it was time, not a moment before. Even in death, he had come for her proving that they were soul mates.

She lived out the rest of her life never committing to another, though proposals came time and time again, because when she died, she only wished to be with him.

A/N: Ughhh. okay. It didn't go QUITE how I wanted to at all. In fact, it was very OOC on Akane's part simply because I've been kind of channeling Miaka Yuki from Fushigi Yugi recently, damn it all. I had this written/planned out totally differently. I'll probably end up scrapping this for another ending but until then, feel free to burn me for my failure :( and if you actually liked it... PLEASE, BOOST. MY EGO!


End file.
